Stocks stay in red on lackluster trades

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange stayed in negative territory yesterday, dipping by 11.85 points or 0.15 percent to finish at 7,646.20, while the broader All Shares barometer was down 10.27 points or 0.22 percent to end at 4,652.46.

Traders said the market just moved sideways on the back of lackluster activities in Asian regional markets.

The rest of the indexes closed in the red except for the industrial gauge which was up by 0.45 percent.

Total value turnover remained thin at just P4.781 billion. Market breadth was negative at 110 to 78 while 45 issues were left unchanged.

The best performers yesterday include Manila Electric Co., which rose by 2.31 percent or 7.40 points to finish at P328.40, while Andrew Tanled Megaworld Corp. gained 1.96 percent or 0.090 points to close at P4.680.

Likewise, conglomerate Ayala Corp. was up by 1.49 percent to seal at P954.

Semirara Mining Corp. led the worst performers, falling 3.04 percent to P28.75 while Metro Pacific Investments Corp. declined anew by 2.06 percent to P4.750.

Traders said market investors would continue to monitor developments in the trade relationship between the US and China following reports the US could lift its ban on US companies selling technology to Chinese telecommunications equipment maker ZTE.